Night lights

Crew members from WSDOT contractor Apply-A-Line of Pacific, Wash., marked the pavement near the trestle bridge in Winthrop last Thursday (Sept. 19) ahead of applying durable pavement marking on State Route 20 through town. The crew worked from 10 p.m.-7 a.m. each night, wrapping up the project Tuesday morning (Sept. 24). “It’s the first time we’ve done striping at night,” said WSDOT communications officer Jeff Adamson. “There’s less impact on businesses, but on the other hand there’s more impact on noise.” Durable marking was first used on Stevens Pass “a couple years ago” to see how it stood up to abuse from snowplowing, Adamson said. In contrast to paint striping, which has to be redone every year, “we should get as much as five years” out of the durable marking, which is inlaid into the pavement, he said.Photo by Don Nelson